7 Ways to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac in 2023

Rosa Reyes
September 13, 2023 Preview 89.0K Preview 3
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You may have noticed there are quite a few solutions to convert a PDF to Pages directly. When you Google search, you are guided to convert PDF to Word, then Save Word as iWork Pages, or you are told to copying the text from a PDF file and pasting it to Pages.

All those retyping and reconverting are time consuming and busy work. Especially when you have a batches of PDF files needs to convert or you have hundreds of PDF pages to handle.

However, I do find some ways and apps that convert PDF to Pages file with integrity and good formatting. Here are 7 solutions on how to convert PDF to Pages on macOS. Don’t worry we also include free online options and apps for iOS device.

 

Convert PDF to Pages on Mac Directly

There are not many tools supports converting PDF files to Pages directly especially offline PDF Converters. After slogging through dozens of solutions to convert PDF to Pages, we finally pick the best one for you - Cisdem PDF Converter OCR for Mac. It helps to perform the PDF-to-Pages conversion directly with least time and efforts, while with high quality retained. It works on MacBook Air, Pro or different iMac versions.

Relying on the advanced OCR function, you can not only convert native PDFs to pages on Mac, but also batch process scanned PDFs and image-based PDFs with high quality. Now, run Cisdem PDF Converter OCR and follow our tutorial to get started.

How to Convert PDF to Pages Directly on Mac

  1. Free Download and install Cisdem PDF Converter OCR on your Mac, get started with a long-time free trial.
    Free Download
  2. Import PDF Files for PDF to Pages Conversion
    Go to the “Converter" interface, you can upload multiple PDF files into the program(up to 200 files). Add or delete the files by clicking the “+” or “-”icon in the lower left corner.
  3. Download the OCR Module
    When you first import scanned PDF files into the uploading interface, the program will prompt you to download the advanced OCR module. With this you can convert scanned PDF or images to editable Pages.
  4. Adjust the PDF to Pages Setting
    Choose to convert the whole PDF or PDF page ranges by clicking on the “All Pages” or “Range” icon. It allows you to specify the pages before conversion. If you need to convert all the PDF to Pages at once, press “Command + A” to select all the documents, then choose “to Pages” from the output format drop-down menu.
  5. pdf to pages mac cisdem1For more accurate conversion, click on the Pages Setting icon and choose the priority.pdf to pages mac cisdem2
  6. Convert Native/Scanned PDF to Pages on Mac Instantly.
    Finally, click “Convert” to start PDF to Pages conversion on Mac. Choose your output folder, and press the “Save” button to download them to your device.
  7. After conversion the converted Pages file will automatically open in Pages.

    Now, lets just compare the converted Pages and the original PDF file. See, notice how well the layout has been preserved here, it can convert PDF to editable pages document while retaining formatting, accuracy.

Also, you can watch the video tutorial on how to convert PDF to Pages

That's it, several clicks and wait for several seconds, you will get your PDF in Pages format, and you will be able to edit the Pages file on your iPad or Mac anytime, anywhere.

 

How to Convert PDF to Pages Online?

If you have no worries on information leakage, you can also make full use of online free tools to convert PDF to Pages.

There are many online tools which claim they can convert PDF to Pages, but we only recommend using CleverPDF or Hipdf. As these 2 online free PDF to Pages converters are the only 2 online sites which can really convert PDF to Pages directly, without doing 2 conversions (PDF to Word, Word to Pages).

#1 CleverPDF - Online PDF to Pages Converter With High Quality Output

If you PDF is small and have no confidential information we recommend you use CleverPDF to convert PDF to pages. This site is quick and it requires no email address to convert and get the pages file.

What impress us most is that the quality of the output pages is fairly good, you need only to do small changes manually.

Why We Picked This Method:

  • Other than convert PDF to pages it can create, convert, protect, unlock, compress and organize PDF files.
  • Convert PDFs to Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and image formats.
  • Convert PDF to Pages with good quality.
  • Fast convert speed.
  • Save converted files to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Why Avoid it?

  • Convert scanned PDF to images in Pages which is non-editable.
  • Can only process 1 PDF to Pages conversion at a time, don’t support batch conversion.
  • Potential risk of information leakage.
  • All files you upload will be removed automatically after 30 minutes.
  • Only supports adding PDF files smaller than 20 MB.
  • Require internet connection to process the file.

How to Convert PDF to Pages Online Free with CleverPDF?

  1. Visit cleverpdf.com and choose the PDF to Pages tool.pdf to pages cleverpdf1

  2. Drag and drop PDF file to CleverPDF or upload PDF from cloud storage devices such as Google Drive and Dropbox.pdf to pages cleverpdf2

  3. Then click on the “Start conversion” to turn your PDF into Pages.pdf to pages cleverpdf3

  4. Then download the Pages document to your Mac.

Now, lets just compare the converted Pages and the original PDF file. See, the result is good, though after conversion, the titles are crowded together.

 

#2 HiPDF - Batch Convert PDF to Pages Online

Some users may note that CleverPDF doesn’t support batch convert PDF to Pages, which takes more time and effort. Here we show another online free PDF to Pages converter for you. It enables you to batch export PDFs as Pages format.

Why We Picked This method:

  • Can convert PDF to Pages directly.
  • Convert PDFs to Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and image formats.
  • Support batch convert PDF to Pages online.
  • Fast convert speed.
  • Save converted files to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Why Avoid it?

  • Convert scanned PDF to images in Pages which is non-editable.
  • Potential risk of information leakage.
  • Only supports adding PDF files smaller than 20 MB.
  • Only supports PDFs with less than 20 pages, which is very limit, you’ll see pop ads every time your load a large size PDF or PDF with lots of pages, really annoying.
  • Require internet connection to process the file.
  • Require manually revise conversion errors.
  • Need to enter email address in order to download the converted Pages file.

How to Convert PDF to Pages Online Free with HiPDF?

  1. Go to HiPDF PDF to Pages.

  2. Drag and drop PDF file to the program or click “Choose File” to upload.pdf to pages hipdf1

  3. Click Convert to start the conversion.pdf to pages hipdf2

  4. When your task has been completed, they will ask you to enter the email address to log in and download the converted Pages file.

Compared with CleverPDF the output of HIPDF is not that good, the result came out all scrambled, and you need take some time to manually update it.

 

Convert PDF to Pages on Mac Using Preview

Since Preview is the macOS utility tool to view, edit and manage PDF files, can users convert PDF to Pages on Mac for free using Preview?

The answer is Yes, but only by copying and pasting, and this means a total format loss. If you need to process a PDF file with a relatively small number of pages, then you can try the following method.

How to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac Using Preview?

  1. Open PDF with macOS Preview.
  2. Select and Copy the text that you want to paste to Pages.
  3. Create a new Pages document. Click on the Add Page icon and Paste the contents to the Pages file.
  4. Go to File > Save, your PDF file will be saved as Pages format on Mac.

 

If Preview Doesn’t Work, Convert PDF to Pages on Mac with Automator

You may encounter a situation where you cannot copy text when using Preview. If your file has too many pages or too much text to copy, you can try to convert it directly to Text format. On Mac, Automator can help you create automated workflow, applications or actions to process PDF files in batch.

How to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac with Automator?

  1. Run Automator on your macOS and choose Application for your documents.
  2. Go to PDFs > Extract PDF Text and drag it to the right side of the interface. Set the output format as “Plain Text” and choose the output file.
  3. Head to File > Save.
  4. Then you can find the program you set up in the folder where you saved it. Drag and drop a PDF to the program, a Text will be created instantly.
  5. Finally, you can easily copy and paste the text to Pages on your Mac.

 

Convert PDF to Pages on iPhone or iPad

We know those who need to convert PDF to Pages are mostly Mac and iOS users. we introduced how to convert PDF to Pages for Mac users above and get questions from many iOS users on how to convert PDF to Pages on iPad or iPhone.

To be frank, there is no directly free PDF to Pages app for iOS. But you can use the free app of Microsoft 365 to convert PDF to Word, then open and save the word file as a PDF. Though the result is not that good compared with desktop options. Here is how:

1. Search and download Microsoft 365 (Office) from Apple Store.

2. Run the app and go to Documents in the top right corner, Find and open the PDF file you need to convert.

3. After the page loaded, tap on "Convert to word" and it will start the conversion process.

4. After the conversion click open in in the top right corner and choose to open the files in Pages.

 

Can I Open PDF in Pages?

The above ways we show are relying on PDF converters, editors, or even workflows creator. Can I open PDF in Pages directly? I can definitely answer that this is achievable, but it will not be as convenient as we imagined.

With this method, the PDF imported to Pages can be only saved in image format. In other words, Mac Pages allows users to open and insert PDF to Pages, but it can only be added manually page by page and the content on the image cannot be changed.

Since iWork Pages cannot open PDF directly, you will need to open an existing Pages file, then insert the PDF file to Pages.

pdf to pages with Pages 01

Steps to Open PDF in Pages on Mac

  1. Open an existing Pages file with iWork Pages.
  2. Insert PDF to Pages on Mac.
    Once you have run iWork Pages, go to a new blank page and drag&drop the PDF file into the blank page. Only one page of PDF file can be imported at one time.
    Don’t drag and drop PDF files to pages that filled with contents. Otherwise, these pages will be overlapped by inserted PDF.
    Also, you can double click on the PDF page or go to the right panel to adjust the settings.open pdf in pages
  3. Save PDF as Pages on Mac.
    Once all is done, go to File > Save. Your PDF will be converted to Pages, though the imported PDF cannot be edited.

Steps to Insert PDF to Pages on Mac

  1. Head to Pages > Insert > Choose...pdf to pages insert1
  2. Then choose a PDF file that you want to insert to the Pages you create, and click on the “Insert” button.pdf to pages insert2
  3. The PDF will be inserted as an image, you can adjust the style, opacity, position, size and rotation on the right pane.pdf to pages insert3

Notes: If you want to edit PDF in Pages, you will need a professional PDF to Pages converter, or have a try on above-mentioned solutions.

 

Conclusion

To change PDF to Pages on Mac, you can choose free or paid tools. But a professional PDF converter app is always highly recommended when you need high quality conversion and want to convert scanned PDF to Pages document. So, why not try Cisdem PDF Converter OCR, a rich-featured and affordable PDF converter that comes with advanced OCR technology and batch mode?
Free Download

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Rosa Reyes
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Rosa has worked in Mac software industry for more than eight years. She believes that the purpose of software is to make life better and work more productively. In addition to writing, Rosa is also an avid runner.

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Comments (3) Leave a Reply

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  • Rumir

    There was a way to change PDF to pages with the help of Adobe(I am a Adobe user)! Thanks, but is there any better way to improve the file quality using this method?

    7 years ago Reply

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  • Keshawn

    Way to go on this essya, helped a ton.

    8 years ago Reply

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  • Jerem

    I usually use Pages to edit document, but I always receive many PDF file from other people. I need a good PDF to Pages converter. This article provides a good solution. Thank you!!!

    8 years ago Reply

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